These easy beef bowls are a quick and delicious Asian-inspired recipe that makes the perfect weeknight dinner. Ready in about 30 minutes!
These beef and rice bowls are Korean-inspired, but I do use hoisin sauce which is technically Chinese. There's many similar recipes floating around on Pinterest these days, and I can't believe I didn't put my own twist on this recipe sooner. That beef is just so good. Most of the recipes I've seen just use brown sugar and soy sauce, but I love the taste of hoisin sauce. It provides a depth of flavor that makes this dish taste extra special.
This meal has quickly become one of my favorite quick dinners. I don't always have time to re-make stuff that I post on the blog since I'm always coming up with new recipes, but this one will definitely be on repeat.
Just a note on serving these ground beef bowls - you don't need to top 'em with sesame seeds like I did. Turns out that ground beef is not the prettiest thing to photograph, so I was desperately raiding my pantry trying to figure out how the heck to make the bowls look more appealing in the photos. The photos you see are my third attempt at photographing this dish. 😛
What kind of beef to use?
I prefer using extra lean (at least 96% lean) ground beef for this recipe because then you don't have to worry about draining the fat. It's also an easy way to manage calories with less effort.
What is hoisin sauce?
According to Google, hoisin sauce is "a sweet, spicy, dark red sauce made from soybeans, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and various spices that's widely used in southern Chinese cooking". I always keep hoisin sauce in my fridge. If you've never bought it before, it's quite readily available. You can find it in the Asian section of most major grocery stores.
How to make ground beef and rice bowls
- In a skillet, brown the beef until it's cooked through.
- Stir in the sauce ingredients.
- Add the chopped red pepper and cook it for a few more minutes until it's tender-crisp.
- Serve over rice and with the optional garnish. Easy! (Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below).
A few recipe tips:
- You don't need to go out and buy sriracha sauce just for this recipe if you never use it, but I do like the flavor it adds. I didn't add a lot since I'm not great with spice myself, but you can always add more if you want to give this recipe more heat.
- I added a red pepper for color and a bit of freshness. If you don't like red pepper, you could leave it out - it won't break anything.
- To easily grate fresh ginger, store it in the freezer! This way I never run out of fresh ginger, and it is much easier to grate.
- You don't have to serve this dish with rice. Try cauliflower rice, quinoa, noodles, or serve it with other veggies. Or just eat it with a spoon straight out of the pan like I maaaay have done when I first made it.
- This is the type of recipe where you can definitely adjust the sauce ingredients to taste, so don't be shy!
- This recipe can be ready in about 15-20 minutes if you use Instant Rice.
Other ground beef recipes you may like:
- Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
- Beef Ramen Noodles (Stir Fry)
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Simple Ground Beef Casserole
- Teriyaki Ground Beef
Will you give these easy Asian beef bowls a try?
Questions? Ask me in the comments below. 🙂
Easy Beef Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice I used white jasmine rice
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- Garnish (optional): scallions, sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions. If you have a different amount you usually make for 4 people, just make your usual amount.
- Meanwhile, add the beef to a skillet over medium-high heat and break it up with your spoon as you go along until it's cooked (approx. 8-10 minutes). If there's a lot of excess fat, drain it.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sauce ingredients (sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, ginger, and garlic).
- Reduce the heat to medium and return the pan to the heat. Add the red pepper pieces. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring often, until the peppers are tender-crisp.
- Serve the beef over the rice and garnish as desired.
Notes
- To easily grate fresh ginger, freeze a whole piece. It grates much easier and you'll always have some on-hand. This is the handy tool I use to grate/zest it.
- If you don't have sriracha sauce, you can leave it out. If you love sriracha, don't hesitate to add more than 1 teaspoon!
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Erin says
Ok, I love this one! I've added my own twist by including 1-2 finely diced sweet potatoes and zucchini. So filling and delicious.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Great to hear, Erin! Love those additions! 🙂
Sharon says
Could you use powdered ginger and if so, how much to substitute? I don't always have fresh on hand, although I love the trick of freezing it!
Natasha says
So, I would go very easy on powdered ginger. I find if you add too much it can really ruin a dish. I'd say 1/4 teaspoon or less to start with. Let me know if you try the freezing ginger trick - I love it! 😀
Anisha says
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! Toddler approved by my 4 and 2 year old. I’m glad I made extra sauce as I wanted some more in my bowl. Next time I will double this and add some other veggies like carrots, broccoli or zucchini. So flavourful! No leftovers thanks for the help on a weeknight! Pro tip: make extra sauce in case you want more or for next time! It’s so good!
Natasha says
That's awesome!!! Appreciate your review, Anisha! 😀
Billy says
Quick easy and tasty I added chopped red chilli for extra heat .
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Awesome!! 🙂
Jenny says
This is a family favorite! It’s so easy and the flavors are excellent. Do yourself a favor and double it!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's so nice to hear your family enjoyed it, Jenny! 🙂
Maria says
This looks yummy. I have a question regarding the ginger. You have to peel it prior to grating it, correct? Do you freeze it peeled already?
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Hi Maria! We freeze it with the skin on. It protects it from getting freezer burn. You then grate the skin off the part of the ginger that you'd like to use. Takes a few seconds, then once you hit the inside, you just add that part to the recipe as needed. Enjoy!! 🙂
Taylor says
This is one of our favourite recipes— it’s a weekly occurrence in our house!
I double the sauce and sneak in more veg by adding sliced mushroom, celery and carrot.
Thanks for posting it!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
I love that! So happy your home enjoys it, Taylor 🙂
Christine says
MY ONLY REGRET WAS NOT SEEING THIS RECIPE SOONER! DELICIOUS , I USED ALL THE INGREDIENTS AND IT WAS PERFECTION. THIS WILL BE A NEW REGULAR MEAL IN OUR HOUSE 🏠
Natasha says
Fantastic!! 😀 Thanks, Christine!
Karen says
I absolutely love this!!!! It is perfect for meal prepping! I doubled the sauce so it didn’t get dried out. Now I just have to get my kids to try it but I will definitely make this often.
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Nancy says
This was so good. I added an onion and some broccoli. I will double the sauce next time. Grandson's approved.
Natasha says
Fantastic!! 🙂 Thanks, Nancy!
Andrea says
Can I substitute the brown sugar with something else like honey? Or omit it altogether?
Natasha says
Hi! I think honey should be fine. You could omit it, but it'll then make a bit less sauce and of course be a bit less sweet. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Beverly Weisbaum says
Can the beef part of this be frozen maybe divided into single serving sizes and then added to rice, etc?
Natasha says
Hi! You could, but you may want to double the sauce if doing that. This dish doesn't have a ton of sauce to begin with, and I feel like by the time you thaw and re-heat, it may end up a bit dry.
Allie says
This recipe is a favorite and often lands on our weekly rotation. When we are feeling extra fancy we put an over easy egg on top - it is delicious!
Natasha says
Love that idea!! 🙂
Ashley says
Does the nutrition include the rice? Thank you! Great recipe
Natasha says
Yes it does. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it, Ashley!
Gina Gunn says
I made this, but I substituted the beef with chicken. It was great. We had NO leftovers!
Natasha says
Awesome!!
Kandace Furlong says
My wife and I made this and WOW, not sure anything this easy has ever slapped that hard - this recipe is the online form of pure FIRE. I'm drooling, probably have to make it again tonight.
Natasha says
Haha I love that. Thank you!!
Brenda Woods says
Quickly became a family fav. Used a teason- ish of ginger paste instead of fresh. Also added crushed red chili flakes. Added scallion in with pepper adore to garnish. So easy and delish
Natasha says
Fantastic!! I'm so glad it's a hit in your home, Brenda!
Suzanne says
I made this minus the ginger (I hate ginger) & I sautéed the whites of the green onions with the ingredients & garnished with the greens. It was awesome. I’ve tried a few bulgoggi recipes that disappointed but this beef bowl was more what I wanted for taste & it was a hit. We’ve made it twice in a few weeks. Easy & quick after a workday when you don’t feel like cooking. I can’t wait to try more recipes-it’s hard to find good ones that actually turn out well & so I’m excited about finding your site!
Natasha says
I'm so happy you like it so much!! 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment. Let me know if you try anything else.
emily powers says
This recipe was so delicious and my entire family loved it! I did add water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms and the white parts of the scallions to the beef and will probable make more sauce next time because it was sooooo good! Thanks for the recipe! This will be added as a regular to our rotation.
Natasha says
That's awesome!! So glad you liked it. You're welcome! Your additions sound delish.
Monique says
Definitely adding to weekly rotation! My kids and husband loved this recipe, as did I!
Natasha says
Woo hoo!! Thank you 🙂